The Clever Grocery Tip I Wish I Tried Sooner (I’m Easily Saving $20 a Month)

When I grocery shop, it’s just for me, myself, and I. Which is fine by me (that cheesy frozen pizza is all mine!). That being said, I do wish there was someone else on my side to double-check my fine grocery work. Turns out, there’s a special grocery store feature I can lean on instead. 

No, I’m by no means a coupon expert, nor am I a prodigious flyer-collector. I enjoy doing other things besides grocery shopping! What I will do, though? Always shop at stores that offer either a price match or a price adjustment. Here’s why.

For me, it feels like the flip side of those store loyalty cards you have on your keychain or in your wallet; customers are often super loyal to their favorite grocery stores, but are stores similarly loyal to their customers? Not necessarily, which is a darn shame. 

In my view, matching a lower price offered by another retailer for the exact same product is just a sound business practice and does leaps and bounds for keeping customers (myself included) happy. It’s sort of like we’re all scratching each other’s backs, so to speak. Plus, especially in these times where egg prices make my eyes bulge out, this strategy makes shopping a whole lot less dreadful.

Best of all, getting in the habit of price matching has saved me at least 10% (or $20 a month) on my grocery bill, and barely adds more time or effort to my weekly shop. 

There are plenty of national and even more regional grocers that will help keep prices in check, whether it be among competitors or with another of their stores, and even online. Here’s a few to get you started.

• Target is one of the only grocery retailers that offers a full price match for (specific) competitors within 14 days of purchase. Also known as its Price Match Guarantee, this policy can be used towards any identical item found at a lower price, either at Amazon or Walmart. It will also adjust the price if a lower price is found online at Target.com or with a Target Circle deal. 
• Walmart doesn’t necessarily price match with competitors, but it will price match if the identical item at Walmart.com is cheaper. Just flag a manager when you’re checking out. 
• Costco will also offer price adjustments if you find that an item has decreased in price within 30 days; this is eligible for purchases made in-store and at Costco.com. 
• Sam’s Club is a lot like its parent company, Walmart, in that it will price match other Sam’s Club locations only. 
• Aldi also offers price adjustments, but only for items that have decreased in price in the Aldi Finds section within 14 days of purchase. 
• Publix, my stalwart hometown favorite, may not match prices, but it will honor competitor coupons (including BOGO ones!) for identical items. So keep your coupon book handy — the coupons do need to be of the paper sort! 

• Remember the return window. Each store, not unlike a snowflake, is different in its policies and enforcement. Some will honor your price adjustment only right at checkout, and others will offer you a bit more time to do your research (or watch prices drop). Also, be sure to check how many times you can price match per transaction, as many stores do limit the type and number of price matches one can do in a single transaction. 
• Keep the receipts (in more ways than one). Physical receipts are very important when proving a need for a price adjustment (or price match), so keep them in a safe spot. Some grocers (like Publix) will even give you the item for free if you’ve been overcharged due to a mislabeled price tag.
• Set aside a time to cross-check prices. Depending on when I need groceries, I’ll set up a cool 30 minutes once a week on my shop day to see what the lay of the land is, price-wise, for many of my staples. Over time, I can usually skip this step once I’ve started to remember which stores tend to have lower prices that I can then match at any of the above retailers. I’ll typically make a “cart” in the Instacart app at a grocery store so the prices are handy and ready to pull up when asking for a price match. 
• Chat online first, if you can. This is mostly to help save time (a most precious resource as well!). It might not be worth the extra journey to head to the store to get that slight refund or price match. Often, you can get a refund issued from online purchases or pick-up orders simply by using a store’s chat function first, saving you a schlep back to the store. 

Got a smart money-saving tip for fellow grocery shoppers? Tell us about it in the comments below.